Advancing the Workforce That Supports Computationally and Data Intensive Research

Schmitz, P. Michael; Yockel, Scott; Mizumoto, Claire; Cheatham, Thomas E.; Brunson, Dana

doi:10.1109/mcse.2021.3098421

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(3 reference statements)

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“…A literature review did not discover any existing estimates of the size of the RCD workforce. Because the RCD profession is not yet welldefined, many people whose work aligns with RCD activities do not yet identify as RCD professionals or identify their work as research computing and data work [41]. This makes such individuals difficult to identify and count, and it means that those who can be identified are likely only a fraction of the total workforce.…”

Section: Estimating the Workforce Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite growing need for CI expertise and acknowledgement that the RCD workforce is essential to US competitiveness in global science and engineering initiatives, a number of challenges exist that may deter professionals from entering, and staying in, the RCD field [41]. Arafune et al [2020] discuss many of the challenges that affect the research computing innovation workforce [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterizing the US Research Computing and Data (RCD) Workforce

Maimone

Yockel

Middelkoop

et al. 2022

Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing

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A growing share of computationally and data-intensive research, both inside and outside of academia, requires the involvement and support of computing and data professionals. Yet little is known about the composition of the research computing and data (RCD) workforce. This paper presents the results of a survey (N=563) of RCD professionals' demographic and educational backgrounds, work experience, current positions, job responsibilities, and views of working in the RCD field. We estimate the size of the RCD workforce and discuss how the demographic diversity and distribution of backgrounds of those in the RCD workforce fail to match that of the larger academic and technical workforces. These survey results additionally support the insights of those working in the field concerning the need to recruit a wider variety of professionals into the RCD profession, better define job descriptions and career pathways, and improve institutional recognition for the value of RCD work.

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Section: Estimating the Workforce Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the US Research Computing and Data (RCD) Workforce

Maimone

Yockel

Middelkoop

et al. 2022

Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Distinct RCD roles are relatively new and it is not obvious to people outside of RCD how their skills and experience map to the RCD profession [25]. This is a serious barrier to recruitment and to building a pipeline into these roles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Factors that Influence Research Computing and Data Careers

Chaudhry

Pazouki

Schmitz

et al. 2022

Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing

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Research Computing and Data (RCD) professionals play a crucial role in supporting and advancing research that involve data and/or computing, however, there is a critical shortage of RCD workforce, and organizations face challenges in recruiting and retaining RCD professional staff. It is not obvious to people outside of RCD how their skills and experience map to the RCD profession, and staff currently in RCD roles lack resources to create a professional development plan. To address these gaps, the CaRCC RCD Career Arcs working group has embarked upon an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the paths that RCD professionals follow across their careers. An important step in that effort is a recent survey the working group conducted of RCD professionals on key factors that influence decisions in the course of their careers. This survey gathered responses from over 200 respondents at institutions across the United States. This paper presents our initial findings and analyses of the data gathered. We describe how various genders, career stages, and types of RCD roles impact the ranking of these factors, and note that while there are differences across these groups, respondents were broadly consistent in their assessment of the importance of these factors. In some cases, the responses clearly distinguish RCD professionals from the broader workforce, and even other Information Technology professionals. CCS CONCEPTS• Social and professional topics → Computing occupations.

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The situational window for boundary-spanning infrastructure professions: Making sense of cyberinfrastructure emergence

Hayes

Kulkarni

Kee

2023

Journal of Professions and Organization

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In the twenty-first century, professions are complex and difficult to define due to their fluid and interdisciplinary natures. In this study, we examined the personal career stories of professionals in the field of cyberinfrastructure (CI) to identify the narrative patterns used to make sense of CI as a boundary-spanning profession. Overall, we found that professionalization of CI is a sensemaking process of communal, retrospective storytelling. The meaning-making of CI as a profession occurred through three levels of narrative patterns: individual traits of CI professionals, situational introductions to CI, and inspirational convictions about CI. The situational level, which connected innate qualities and internal motivations with external forces to join CI as a career, was especially important to the professionalization of CI. Our findings have implications for re-examining professionalization as an ongoing sensemaking process, as well as offering guidance for recruitment and retention in critical boundary-spanning professions.

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Advancing the Workforce That Supports Computationally and Data Intensive Research

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

Characterizing the US Research Computing and Data (RCD) Workforce

Characterizing the US Research Computing and Data (RCD) Workforce

Understanding Factors that Influence Research Computing and Data Careers

The situational window for boundary-spanning infrastructure professions: Making sense of cyberinfrastructure emergence

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